With Walker Little opting to head to Palo Alto and Chuck Filiaga leaving a Texas out of his top three, the Longhorns quickly entered the picture for Derek Kerstetter as they looked for an offensive tackle for this recruiting cycle. Tom Herman and his staff offered Kerstetter awhile back when they were still at Houston and I’ve been told that offensive line coach Derek Warehime loves him as a prospect and his potential.
Not long after being offered by Texas, Kerstetter setup a January official visit to Austin so it was clear the Longhorns had his interest. It seems that things moved a little quicker than expected even with Kerstetter being committed to Oklahoma State for some time now, as today he made the call to Tom Herman and announced today he wanted to be a Longhorn and play his college ball just up the road from his hometown of San Antonio.
Kerstetter held offers from Colorado State, Houston, Illinois, Minnesota, North Texas, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, and Toledo before deciding to make the call and pledge to the Longhorns.
Film Review:
At 6’5, 280 pounds, Kerstetter possesses a solid frame that will allow him to stick at tackle or potentially kick inside if things don’t work out there. While Kerstetter may not be a potential plug and play caliber like Little or Filiaga, he’s still a quality pickup with some nice upside who netted Army All-American honors. One of the main takeaways for me after watching Kerstetter on film is his nasty streak and ability to finish defenders. If you have ever read my takes on OL play then you know being nasty and finding finishers is high on my priority list, and Kerstetter checks both of those boxes for sure.
Additionally, he does a solid job of getting to the second level defenders in the run game and he also does a decent job of setting the edge on outside zone plays, which requires athleticism and good footwork. His time at the Army All-American game will be important because it will allow me to get a better gauge on how he holds up in pass protection, but from is on his cutups he holds up just fine. Kerstetter is likely a redshirt candidate when he hits campus, but that doesn’t mean he’s a bad player or a quality take. With the depth on campus, Kerstetter can take that first year to acclimate and add the necessary weight he will need.
Final Verdict:
Some probably aren’t as familiar with Kerstetter and for some it may not be as sexy as landing a player or Little or Filiaga’s caliber, but after taking a large offensive line class this past recruiting cycle, Texas is able to take a guy like Kerstetter and take the time to mold and development him over his first couple seasons on campus as he fills out and adjusts to the college game. For me he reminds of when Texas signed Garrett Thomas out of Louisiana in 2015.
He’s not a guy who you will be able to toss into the two deep from a skillset perspective on day one, but he has some tools and skills that can be developed over time after benefitting from a redshirt. Texas is in a great position now to where they can afford to take players like this and take the time to develop them rather than have to throwing them into fire early on and hope they pan out.
As I said previously, I am looking forward to seeing how Kerstetter fares against some of the elite players in the country in early January at the Army All-American game, as it should give us a better idea of where he is at in his development skills wise.
